Exhaust fan unit



J. CAMPBELL I Oct. 13,- 1942.

` EXHAUSTFAN NIT Filed Aug. 3, A1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l I mvENToR.

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Oct. 13, 1942- w. J. CAMPBELL EXHAUST FAN UN IT f Filed Aug. 3, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 IN VENTOR.

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Patented Oct. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to exhaust fan units for attic and like installations, and it is the primary object of the invention to provide a compact and unitary assembly which shall be eflicient in operation, inexpensive to produce, and readily handled for convenient installation.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claim is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my fan unit;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged view of the mounting means for the fan shaft, parts being shown in section; and

Fig` 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, part-sectional view of a frame detail.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I have illustrated a propeller IIJ of standard construction mounted on a shaft I I to rotate therewith. The shaft I I is journalled in bearings I2, I3 received in pockets I4 and I5 at opposite ends of the shaft housing I6; and said shaft housing is suitably fixedly supported on a platform I1. At its end remote from the propeller It, the shaft II carries a sheave or pulley I8.

The platform I1 is secured, preferably by welding or the like, between two frame members indicated generally by the reference numerals I9 and 2D. The member I9 consists of a main upright portion 2l terminating at its lower end in a forwardly projecting arm 22 substantially parallel with the shaft II; and a laterally inclined portion Z3 terminating at its upper end in a forwardly projecting arm 24 substantially parallel with the shaft I I. Similarly, the member 20 consists of a main upright portion 25 terminating at its lower end in a forwardly projecting arm 26 substantially parallel with the shaft I I and lying in a common horizontal plane with the arm 22; and a laterally inclined portion 21 flaring away from but lying in a common vertical plane with the portion 23 and terminating at its upper end in a forwardly projecting arm 28 substantially parallel with the shaft I I and lying in a common horizontal plane with the arm 24.

The platform I1 is mounted adjacent the upper ends of the upright portions 2l and 25, and the frame portions 23 and 21 flare oppositely away therefrom. Near the lower ends of the upright portions 2| and 25 is suitably secured, as by welding or the like, a second platform 29. Bolts 30, 30 project upwardly from the surface of said platform 29, and nuts 3l, 32, threadedly mounted on said bolts, adjustably grip and support the bed plate 33 of an electric motor 34, the spindle 35 of which carries a sheave 36 drivingly connected, by belt 31, to the sheave I8.

Each of the arms 22, 24, 26, and 29 is provided with a tapped opening in its end, coaxial with the arm. In the illustrated embodiment, the frame members I9 and 20 are tubular, and each such tapped opening is provided through the medium of an internally threaded plug or bushing 38 suitably seated, with a tight fit, in .the open tubular end of an arm. A bolt 39 may, of course, be threaded into the bore 48 of each bushing 38, to clamp the associated arm 22, 24, 23 or 28 to a support element 4I penetrated by said bolt. Preferably washers 42, 42 will be provided on opposite sides of the support member 4 l, as in the illustrated embodiment.

By this means, the unitary fan assembly may be secured in place in a wooden frame or the like.

Intermediate its ends, the housing I6 is formed with a port 45 normally stoppered by a plug 46. It will be seen that the shaft I I extends entirely through the housing I6, but that it is supported wholly in the anti-friction bearings I2 and I3; and it will also be seen that the shaft and said bearings cooperate to close the ends of the housing. The assembly is maintained by the fact that the fan or propeller I0 is secured to one protruding end of the shaft I I immediately adjacent the 1f bearing I2, while the sheave I8 is secured to the other protruding end of the shaft I I immediately adjacent the bearing I 3.

A suitable lubricant may be injected through the port 45 into the housing I6, where it will surround and cushion the shaft II and whence it will work into the bearings I2 and I3 to lubricate them.

The entire assembly is compact and readily handled. No assembling need be done by the person who is installing the unit, but on the contrary the whole unit may be carried or shifted by a grip on one or both of the frame elements I9 and 2l). Adjustment of the nuts BI, 32 will bring the motor spindle 35 into perfect parallelism with the shaft II; or will shift the motor 34 bodily to vary the tension of the belt 31, if desired.

I claim as my invention:

A fan unit comprising two generally upright frame members lying substantially in a common plane, a platform secured between said frame members` lying substantially in a plane perpendicular to said common plane and projecting oppositely beyond said common plane, means supported on said platform at at least two points located respectively on opposite sides of said common plane, a propeller-carrying shaft journalled in spaced supports provided by said means with its axis substantially perpendicular to said plane and projecting oppositely beyond said plane, a second platform secured between said frame members, a motor mounted on said second platform and having a spindle substantially parallel with said shaft, and means connecting said motor spindle to drive said shaft.

WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL. 

